Field Trip - Room 1, 6, & 7 - Thursday, November 19th

The Remembrance Day assembly on Tuesday, November 10 was a beautiful ceremony of songs and poetry, honoring the men and women who have fought in conflicts around the world.  The Division 1 choir sang beautifully and brought tears to many of the audience members.  Great job!!

On Thursday, November 19 the students in Rooms 1, 6, & 7 will be attending the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra's concert "Beatrix Potter's Peter and Rabbit and Friends," thanks to the generous donation of tickets from corporate sponsors.  We are so excited to see the concert in the new performance theatre at the Mount Royal University Campus!  All students are encouraged to return their permission forms as soon as possible and we are looking for 2 parent volunteers to accompany us as well. If you have any Beatrix Potter books at home, please read them together as well.  We can't wait to hear the stories brought to life with the wonderful music of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra!

Remembrance Day Assembly

On Tuesday, November 10th at 10:45 am, the students in the Division 1 choir made up of students in Grade 1, 2, and 3 will be performing 2 songs at the Remembrance Day Assembly at Vista Heights.  We hope that you can come and join us in this special time of remembrance.

October 30th

Division 1 choir has started and there has been a great turn out of students and lots of enthusiastic participation.  We are preparing two songs right now for the Remembrance Day Assembly on November 10. 

In Division 1 we have been reviewing the names of the barred instruments and the playing technique in music class and accompanying poems and songs with these instruments.  We will be focusing on reading and identifying rhythm patterns in songs, mapping the melody, and then transferring the rhythm and melodic patterns on to an instrument.  In Division 2 the students have been preparing a drumming ensemble to a performance level.  Each drumming ensemble is 5 – 6 parts that are played at the same time and it requires great concentration and listening skills to execute a great balance of sound and precision of the rhythm parts.  In November we will be focusing on composing our own drumming ensembles.

This week in music class in Division 2 we have been discussing, "What is a complementary rhythm pattern?".  In drumming music, all rhythm patterns are complementary, which means that they fit together or complete each other.  We have been looking at examples of complementary patterns and we are practicing writing our own patterns and then playing them on drums to see what they sound like.  This is the first step to composing music for a drumming ensemble.

Division 1 students are continuing to practice reading and playing rhythm patterns with Ta, Ti Ti and Rest on a variety of instruments.  We have also been listening to examples of classical music and discussing what they hear: "Is the music fast or slow? Is the music loud or quiet? Is the music high or low in pitch? What instruments do you hear?  How did the song make you feel? What do you think the song is about?".

On Wednesday, October 14 choir will begin for students in Grade 1, 2, and 3 who have expressed an interest and have returned their forms.  We will be practicing at lunch recess, 12:20 - 12:45. If anyone is interested in and did not get a choir form, please come and see me on Tuesday.

Have a great long weekend!  Happy Thanksgiving.

This week in music class Division 2 learned the song "Kebe Mama" from Ghana and we worked on adding 3 - 5 instrument parts with the song.  We have been recording our performances so that we can listen and evaluate our playing.
In Division 1 this week we learned to identify Ta and Ti Ti in rhythm patterns and we are working on drawing rhythm patterns, reading, and playing rhythm patterns.

It is hard to believe the first week of school is almost over!  It has been so exciting to see the energy and enthusiasm to learn in music class this week!

This week we have been learning about the different types of drumming instruments, the materials that they are made from, and how to handle and play each instrument. The students are learning how to play  open tones "Peh" and bass tones "Poom" on the drums and to repeat rhythm patterns with precision in tone, volume, and technique.  Over the next weeks, the students will be learning rhythm patterns that we will begin to put together to create an Ensemble piece.  Students in Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 will be practicing reading and playing rhythm patterns from flashcards and written music.

"I was born with music inside me.  Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my heart.  Like my blood.  It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water."  Ray Charles

Welcome back Vista Heights students!!  Like Ray Charles, the music lives inside me too and I am so excited to share it with you this year. We will start the year learning African rhythms and beats and using drums and percussion instruments to play as an ensemble.